Codicote

As the west of the UK disappeared this weekend under the rain brought in by Storm Callum, we were out in North Hertfordshire again. I know, we’ve said before that this part of the Chilterns is pretty boring but today a ‘shortish walk’ is the order of the day and this was all I had on my list.

We’re out early enough to catch the last of the sunrise over Codicote and the early morning light against the gathering gloom in the west makes for some special colours. This is a flat walk, no climbs, no views but some great skies and, this morning, a rainbow. I don’t think our pictures do it justice but we enjoyed watching the weather slowly creep our way. We’ve walked as far as Crouch Green before the rain finally arrives. It’s been on its way for the last 30mins…the skies have been growing increasingly leaden, displacing the blue skies of earlier, and the wind’s picked up. Now the rain sets in, first a steady drizzle and then proper rain…not stair-rod rain but enough to get you wet quickly…and, foolishly, I have no coat. However, it’s unseasonably warm and so the rain is really no hardship.

By the time we reach the Knebworth Estate the rain has stopped. We enter via a turnstile which sternly warns us ‘not to use the facilities without paying for them’. Why do threats like this immediately illicit an urgent need? I find a tree…I think that’s still free…well, at least no one saw me so I got away with it. We have an uneasy stand off with a herd of Roe deer stags. It’s rutting season and testosterone has certainly made them bold. Given our experience with cows in the summer we’re not keen for a repeat with antlers…besides, we’re out in the open and very exposed! We edge passed and on to Knebworth House and Old Knebworth.

By the time we’re walking into Codicote the skies have cleared and the sun is out. A pleasant undemanding 8.4 mile walk in the Hertfordshire countryside.